Page 38 of Bear’s True Mate

“I was going to say difficult, but sure.”

“Yeah. Partly. I was fighting it. I didn’t want to feel what he felt.” I held her gaze. “I stopped fighting it a while ago, though.”

“This is insane,” she said. “I mean, it sounds like fiction.”

“You’re a writer. It should be a cakewalk for you,” I teased, because it was better than having her say it was all too much and she couldn’t handle it.

I didn’t want her to say that.

“I write contemporary romance.”

“Sounds like you might need to switch genres.” I winked.

She laughed and shifted her gaze to her lap. It was short and a little shaky, but it had been a laugh. That had to be a good sign, right? One that meant she wasn’t about to run from me because of what I was?

When her laugh faded, the room went quiet, and I didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t looking at me, and the longer she didn’t look at me, the harder it got to breathe. My bear was motionless and waiting to see how this would pan out with her, too. Both of us locked on her like the next thirty seconds decided everything about our future, because it did.

Was she trying to figure out how to let me down easily? Working out the kindest way to tell me this was too much? That she’d be gone by morning?

The silence stretched until I couldn’t stand it, and that was when she finally broke it.

“You turned your music down for me,” she said.

I blinked. “What?”

“The music. You turned it down. You didn’t tell me you were doing it. You just did it.” Her gaze was still fixed on her lap. “You did your yardwork when you thought I wasn’t working. You made me tea that you bought, even though I know you don’t even like tea.”

I didn’t have a response.

She finally looked up. Her eyes were wet, but she wasn’t crying. Not yet. Instead, she searched my face, looking for the catch, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

There wasn’t one, not with me, and she had to know that by now.

“You’ve been rearranging your whole life around me since I got here, and you never once asked for anything back. With Evan, everything came with a price and everything had a string attached.”

My chest ached for her and all she’d been through with that asshat.

“I didn’t do any of that to get something back from you,” I said, hoping she believed me.

“I know. You did it because that’s just who you are.”

“No.” I held her gaze. “I did it because it’s who you make me want to be. Better.”

Something shifted in her expression. I couldn’t name it, but it was like a door she’d been holding shut had finally swung open and she’d decided to stop fighting.

She stood and crossed the space to where I stood until she was right in front of me, and then she lifted to the tips of her toes and kissed me.

It was soft and careful. I didn’t push for more or to deepen it. Instead, I just let her lead. She pulled back an inch or two after a moment and locked eyes with me as if searching for permission to do it again. What she saw on my face must have been all she needed because she lifted to the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to mine again. I let my hands find her waist this time. When she didn’t pull away and instead pressed closer, I deepened the kiss. My tongue glided against hers and the noise she made in response went straight to my groin.

My hands gripped her waist harder, and I pulled her flush against me. I skimmed my lips along her jaw, down the side of her neck, and to the top of her shoulder. She tilted her head back, and I traced a line down to her collarbone, noticing when goose bumps spread over her skin. Her fingers interlaced their way through my hair as another noise spurred from her parted lips. A growl rumbled from somewhere deep inside my chest, and I had to stop myself from hoisting her into the air and carrying her to the bedroom.

Was that what she wanted?

“Bedroom?” I whispered.

She nodded, and I grinned while I hoisted her into the air. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and she laughed as I carried her down the short hallway to my room, kicking the door open with my foot, and then lowered her onto the bed. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of my shorts and tugged me down to her. I braced my arms on either side of her and kissed her. When she sat up and peeled her tank top off, revealing a simple cotton bra underneath, I reached around and unhooked it, letting it slide off her shoulders.

She was gorgeous.